The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-10-14
Friday, Oct. Ia, 1857.
What Ought to be Donep

Is the caption of a strange editorial
n last Saturdays Democrat. The ques-
tion is not answered except by infer
ence or intimation. The subject und-
er consideration is our prohibatory
law, and the trial of Confer the Elkton
whiskey outlaw is used as the text of
this singular discourse.
The following extract from the ar
ticle contains the pith and essence of
it.
"What Mr.. Confer is charged with
doing is not wrong in itself, but only
wrong because the law forbids it. What
any competent witness against Mr..
Confer would have to do to become q
reliable witness against him, is wrong
in itself, and no law can be put on the
statute book that could make it more
or less wrong. Human nature will
have to be changed,-man will have TO
be born again, and born in a low
er sphere-before it can cease to be
wrong to betray confidence. 1t is inn
possible, therefore, that any true citi-
zen can be willing witness in such a
case. AS an unwilling witness, his
information will be difficult to obtain
and very probably barren when OBJ
tanned. The willing witness will sac.
rifice, in the very act of becoming
witness at all, the confidence necessary
to make his testimony effective"
Confer is charged with selling whis-
key or beer; in a word, alcoholic drinks
This "is not wrong" the writer asserts.
Only violation of law. Then the law
which declares the offense criminal is
urong. There is getting clear of one
or the other of these dilemmas. The
majority of the best people in the
county-we mean best in the fullest
sense of the word-after careful DELHI
Grafton declared their belief that the
law is a just law, by voting for it, and
large humble of those who were I'M
certain about the policy, the practical
bility or justice of the law. and voted
against it Or abstained from voting for
or against, now say they would not
vote to license whiskey selling in the
county again. Why this uncertainty
in this class Of honest men, and when
after long considering finally reach
the conclusion that the law is right and
the act of selling alcoholic drinks is
wrongs
But how shall We reach a conclus-
ion in this matter which apparently is
so difficult to deny or refute? You
will find the answer in holy writ. BY
the fruit you shall judge the tree. What
is the fruit of licensed rum selling? Is
1t not the blacklist chapter of crime, of
misery and woe ever written by hu-
man pen or portrayed by human
tongue? Has any man ever named
one single useful purpose resulting
from licensed grog shop? Such a
purpose has never been named, and
we venture to say never will be.
This tree, which we will call licens-
ed grow selling. bears crop of fruit
which is all crime, wretchedness
and nameless woe. There is no man
found to deny this fact If law is of any
avail to protect society from outrage,
then it must be invoked to protect So
ciety from every species of crime which
can be traced into the very door of the
licensed saloon. So much in refuta-
ton of the assertion that whiskey sell
ing "is not wrong in itself, but only
wrong because the law forbids it,
The next point in this pernicious
reasoning is stated thus. What any
competent witness against Mr.. Confer
would have to dc to become reliable
witness against him is wrong in itself"
Wrong in itseLf"! Did the writer stop
10 analyze what he was saying? Wrong
for witness when summoned to tell
the jury if he drank intoxicating Ii
quor at public house? Then the in
evitable conclusion is, when summon
ed to testify, that it is right for him to
swear to n lie! There is no getting
clear of this alternative. If wrong for
him to swear before the jury and tell
the truth it must be right to swear and
tell he! This is reaching high NOR
al standard in defense of licensing rum!
The whole business is so utterly bad
that every friend who attempts to lend
it helping hand, finds himself hope
lessly mired in bottomless bog.
The quotation above by inference de-
clares against detectives to ferret out
crime, and here the writer exposes the
utter weakness of the attempt to boil
ster licensing rum selling. De ectives
are used, and always have been in ev-
cry department of justice. According
to the Democrats philosophy the gov
eminent commits grieyous wrong py
employing detectives 10 bring coun